The present invention relates to systems and methods for recording and displaying detailed remote deposit session data to a user during an on-line or in-process troubleshooting sessions to provide improved remote deposit user support. User support can be provided to end users, such as bank account holders, or to the banks and other financial institutions that service such account holders.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
To increase the convenience and speed of using existing and legacy checking systems and checks, many banks and other service providers have implemented various types of remote deposit systems. In such systems, a user can associate a deposit or checking account with a particular remote deposit system. That user can then deposit checks or other physical deposit documents into the associated account without taking or sending the physical document to the financial institution that services the account. Instead of taking the deposit document or sending the deposit document to the physical location of the bank or other financial institution servicing the account, a user need only image the front and back of the deposit document written to the user or the user's business. Such images of the front and back of the deposit documents are typically captured in a digital format using a scanner or digital camera. The user, or a system or device controlled by the user, can send the digital images of the deposit document directly to a remote deposit processor, or an intermediate entity, via one or more electronic communication media, i.e. the Internet, for processing.
When the remote deposit processor, or other financial transaction processor, such as financial transaction network, receives the images of the deposit document it typically performs various types of image analysis and data processing. For example, to extract any information from the digital image of the deposit document, most systems first perform optical character recognition (OCR) on the deposit document. The OCR converts the data embedded in the image of the deposit document into ASCII or binary code that can be read by a computer system. Typical OCR processes extract the name of the payee, the amount of the payments, the account and routing number information, the date, and any other information that might be printed or written on the front or back of the deposit document. Some remote deposit systems use the same OCR process to detect a signature, while others use a separate module or service to determine whether or not there is a semblance of a valid signature.
Because such remote deposit systems rely heavily, if not solely, on the information they can decipher from the digital image of a deposit document, it is important that the image of the deposit document be in focus and have sufficient resolution and contrast that the information can be accurately determined. Additionally, it is important that information regarding how, where, and by whom, the image of the deposit document was captured. However, due to the myriad ways that a user can capture a digital image of a deposit document, i.e. digital camera, scanner, camera phone, etc., the size, resolution, alignment, and quality of the various deposit document received from various users can vary dramatically. For instance, the quality of a deposit document image captured by a desktop computer using a scanner and a client-based image capture program can be greater than that of a deposit document image captured by a mobile computing device with a miniaturized camera module running a standalone or Web-enabled application.
Even in situations where the deposit document is legitimate, and includes all the requisite information, including a signature, various image quality issues can cause errors in the recognition process that would prevent typical remote deposit systems from deciphering or validating the necessary information from image of the deposit document. In some remote deposit systems, a color or grayscale image of the deposit document, due to regulatory or system requirements, is converted into a bi-tonal, i.e. black and white, digital image to increase the contrast, and to reduce the file size of the image of the deposit document to be stored and sent to other agencies or regulators. When the digital image of the deposit document is converted to a bi-tonal image, some or all the information can be lost. This is particularly problematic in digital images of deposit documents that have low contrast or low-resolution.
When a digital image of a deposit document is received in, or processed into, such a condition that it cannot be deciphered or validated, i.e. the account or routing number is not legible, or a signature cannot be detected, typical remote deposit systems will reject the deposit. Additionally, various technical issues can arise based on incompatibilities between various operating systems of a computing device, the software used to capture the deposit document image, and applications and software run on a remote server computer used to interpret or decipher remote deposit session information. Most banks will reject the deposit because the omission of necessary information from the digital image or other user submitted data can not only prevent the remote deposit system from properly processing or handling the deposit, such data can also be or include an indication that the deposit document is fraudulent.
A rejection of the deposit causes the deposit document to be returned. A returned deposit document can cause many undesirable consequences. For example, the amount of the deposit document written to the payee will not be deposited into the payee's account. In the case that the deposit is already made to the payee account, the payer's bank and the payee's bank must coordinate to transfer the deposit out of the payee's account back to the payer's account. Not only do such procedures cause delays, they can also cost the payee and the payer and their associated banks money. For example, the person who wrote a check, depending on the type checking account they have, may be assessed a fee for the returned check.
Additionally, a failure of a remote deposit system can lead to end-user and financial institution dissatisfaction and mistrust of the remote deposit system, such that the user or financial institution will be hesitant to use such a remote deposit system. Furthermore, in the event of a remote deposit session error users and financial institutions expect timely and efficient resolution when an issue or troubleshooting ticket is created. Typical remote deposit troubleshooting systems currently do not include a centralized fast and efficient troubleshooting user interface that can be accessed by an operator of the remote deposit system, a user of remote deposit system, or a financial institution that subscribes or supports the remote deposit system. If users and financial institutions are hesitant to use a remote deposit system, due to inconvenience, wasted time, and extra expense, then there is little chance that such a remote deposit system will be successful in the marketplace.
Thus, there is a need for improved handling of issues and exceptions caused by poor quality image capture for image processing and other technical errors caused by the various components of a remote deposit system. The present invention solves these and other problems by providing systems and methods for improved remote deposit related user support, troubleshooting, and administration.